The invention relates to a supporting-bar arrangement having a support bar which can be plugged securely into a supporting structure with or without a plug-in sleeve arranged therein. Possible supporting structures are, in particular, panels, rear walls and supports. Such supporting-bar arrangements are typically used in shops and exhibitions for displaying goods or services, However, the supporting-bar arrangements can also be used for fastening decoration or screening elements and as a mount for information carriers. The articles which are being carried, such as items of clothing, accessories and packed goods, may be hung directly on the support bar or else the support bar forms the bracket for the actual carrier, e.g. a goods rack provided on one or more support bars. Thus, such support bars may be, for example, clothes rails or hangers with one or more arms. It Is possible for the support bars to support shelves, secure information or decoration elements and also retain, for example, curtains.
For shop fittings and those for trade-fair stands in particular, high variability and design aesthetics, but also a cost-effective solution, are desirable nowadays for supporting-bar arrangements. Such a supporting bar arrangement is disclosed in WO 96/18329. The plug-in sleeves are inserted into a rear wall individually or in a systematically distributed manner. The supporting-bar arrangement comprises a plug-in receiving means and a support bar which can be straightforwardly plugged into the plug-receiving means and disengaged from the same. It is possible for the plug-in receiving means to be positioned on the front side or rear side of a display wall or to be inserted into a wall. Provision is likewise made for the plug-in receiving means to be positioned in or on a rack element. The support bar has a plug-in plate and a tube element attached thereto. In the angled states, the plug-in plate can be introduced into the housing through the window-like plug-in opening and, following slight displacement, arrested behind buffer edges. The tube element itself serves for hanging goods, or a goods carrier is secured thereon. It is also possible for a goods carrier to be seated on the tube elements of a plurality of adjacent support bars or for a plurality of tube elements to be connected by means of crossbars. Systematically distributed plug-in receiving means are provided for this purpose. Said supporting-bar arrangement has proven very successful. However, it is designed predominantly for plug-in receiving means of square configuration and requires a plug-in plate at the front of the support bar. The design principle necessitates a certain minimum size of the components and a certain freedom of movement is required as a result of the tilting of the support bar during engagement and disengagement.
A further tried and tested supporting-bar arrangement is proposed in WO 97/26809. This arrangement likewise comprises a plug-in receiving means into which a support bar can be straightforwardly plugged. It is also possible for this type of plug-in receiving means, of predominantly round configuration, to be inserted directly into a rear wall or into a panel. Provision on the rear sides of the panel or insertion or positioning on a rack element is also possible. The tubular support bar has a latching mechanism which is arranged in its plug-in end and has an actuable lever element which has a movable pawl. In the plugged-together state, said pawl engages, for arresting purposes, in an engagement contour provided in the plug-in receiving means. In this case, there is no need for any plug-in plate at the front of the support bar. The plug-in receiving means has a relatively straightforward inner contour and may thus be produced cost-effectively. However, the latching mechanism arranged in the plug-in end increases the design outlay and necessitates a corresponding cavity in the plug-in end, with the result that the components have to be of a certain dimension.
In summary, it should be stated that the prior range of known supporting-bar arrangementsxe2x80x94comprising a plug-in receiving means and a support bar with a plug-in plate seated at the plug-in end or with an internal latching mechanismxe2x80x94still do not satisfy all the various requirements. The problem on which the invention is based is thus to propose a different type of supporting-bar arrangement, of which the support bar requires neither a plug-in plate nor an internal latching mechanism at the plug-in end; rather, it is solely the shaping at the plug-in end which fixes the support bar reliably, on a temporary basis, in the complementary plug-in sleeve, but such that it can also be removed again without difficulty, with the result that an area with numerous plug-in sleeves is straightforward to change round. In particular, the aim is also to make smaller dimensions of the components possible.
The associated plug-in sleeve must, in turn, be capable of being installed easily on a rear wall, a panel or on a rack element. The intention is for the inner configuration of the plug-in sleeve, for fixing the plugged-in support bar, to have a straightforward configuration and thus not to be cost-intensive or to render the supporting-bar arrangement prone to faults. However, the support bars have to be seated reliably in the plug-in receiving means and appear to be aligned precisely along a line without any great outlay in terms of installation. The intention is for a plurality of support bars to be capable of being combined or provided with goods racks, such as shelves or open boxes.
Furthermore, it is also intended to be possible for the support bar, which is used in conjunction with the plug-in receiving means, also to be capable of being plugged with arresting action directly into a hollow support. It is also necessary for support bars which are plugged in directly in this way to be capable of being installed, exchanged and removed easily and quickly. It is necessary for the plugged-in support bars to have a sufficient load-bearing capacity and also to be arrested reliably for a lot of activity taking place round about. A large number of possible variations and combinations and a design which satisfies shop-construction requirements are desirable. Finally, the intention is for the supporting-bar arrangements to be capable of being mass-produced at efficient cost.
The supporting-bar arrangement comprises a plug-in sleeve, which is accommodated in a through-passage by a supporting structure, and a support bar, which can be plugged into said plug-in sleeve, or the support bar which can be plugged directly into a hollow profile, the plug-in sleeve is of capsule-like form and can be fixed in a wall, in a panel or in a rack element. Provided at the plug-in end of the support bar is a hook contour which serves for fixing in the plug-in sleeve.
In a first embodiment, there is arranged in the plug-in sleeve, in the plug-in opening, a cut-out step behind which the hook contour engages once the support bar has been plugged in. As the support bar is plugged in, the latter first of all has to be angled, in order for the hook contour to pass behind the step, whereupon the support bar can be lowered into the horizontal, and the hook contour engages behind the step to the maximum extent.
In a second embodiment, there is arranged in the plug-in sleeve a spring element which projects into the plug-in opening and latches into the hook contour as the support bar is pushed in. The plug-in sleeve preferably has a positioning flange at the front, while a threaded section is provided at the rear. The plug-in sleeve is usually inserted into a bore in a panel, with the result that the positioning flange can be supported on the front side of the panel, on the border of the bore. On the rear side of the panel, a lock nut is screwed to the projecting threaded section. In both variants, it is advantageous for the plug-in opening in the plug-in sleeve to be provided with a minimal upward sloping relation to the horizontal, with the result that the plugged-in support bars are plugged in the plug-in sleeves with a slight inclination and the adverse visual impression of the support bars hanging down askew is avoided in each case.
In the third embodiment, there is provided in a hollow tube an inlet opening and an outlet opening, which are aligned with one another and are preferably located on the diameter of the tube. The inlet opening is a hole, with the result that the support bar can be plugged in, and the rear end can be raised with play and lowered into the horizontal. The outlet opening is basically shaped as a semicircle with the rounding toward the bottom, in which the hook contour of the plug-in end comes to rest, the hollow-profile wall located at the top border of the outlet opening engaging, in the arrested state, in the indent on the hook contour.
The invention, then, makes available a further type of supporting-bar arrangement where the support bar has a plug-in of very straightforward configuration and is nevertheless fixed reliably in the plug-in sleeve, or directly in a hollow profile, but can also be changed over straightforwardly. The latching connection produced between the plugged-in support bar and the plug-in sleeve or the hollow profile, then, makes it possible to produce the components in smaller dimensions, which is advantageous in design terms for certain applications. By virtue of the design, laborious adjustment of individual plug-in receiving means within a multiplicity thereof is dispensed with. With correct production and installation, the inserted support bars are aligned precisely of their own accord and thus also provide a solid appearance on the display wall, within the rack or on the relevant fitting. The supporting-bar arrangement can be used in a very varied manner as an actual goods carrier and for securing goods carriers.